Marussia F1 is also expected to miss the United States Grand Prix

After Caterham, it is Marussia that should in turn forfeit the next round of the World Championship in Austin.

As the cars are supposed to be sent to Austin during the day, Bernie Ecclestone stated this Saturday to Reuters that neither of these two teams will be going to America. Caterham’s situation was known following the withdrawal of Engavest from the team’s management and the placement of the structure in administration.

Marussia, on its part, is experiencing financial difficulties that coincide with the context of Jules Bianchi’s accident in Suzuka, which left the team without its leader. The organization also decided, in Russia, to field only one car, that of Max Chilton.

The absence of Caterham and Marussia could therefore reduce the number of cars on the grid to 18, below the minimum 20 required by the commercial agreements between the FIA, FOM, and teams. This would be a first since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix, where the field of 20 cars was reduced to 18 after the exclusion of the BAR team, guilty of breaching the regulations in San Marino by concealing an additional fuel tank. The FIA is not expected to ask teams to run a third car at the end of the season.

The absence of Caterham and Marussia, if confirmed, would occur a few months after the failed negotiations on cost reduction in the premier discipline. Likewise, a priori, the participation of the Russian team in the Brazilian Grand Prix, a week after the one held in Austin, seems compromised.